A Beautiful Nightmare
by Sardonicus
Summary: Misty is visiting Ash in Unova, when Ash has a bit of a transformative experience that leads him to say something that he's wanted to say for a long time. Obligatory confession one-shot is obligatory. Pokeshipping. Enjoy!


**So, first off: a sincere thank you to all those who reviewed/favorited my first story, "Deja Vu" is in order. You guys are all awesome! Second: I've finally found some time to write something new, as you can see. I don't know if it's as good as my last one, seeing as a fair bit of it was written at 8 a.m. after an all-nighter, but whatever. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

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><p>It was dark, gray clouds on all sides, confining him to a small area. Beneath his feet was glass, or something clear, as he saw nothing but more clouds below him. He spun around, his eyes darting from side to side, searching for something that would lead him to where he needed to go, but finding nothing. He looked down to his feet, and saw something strange, his old white sneakers on his feet, and his old jeans, and his old blue and white jacket. He lifted his arms to his head, and felt the hat on top of it. He grabbed it by the rim and removed it, feeling the fabric drag his hair upward, scratching at his scalp. He looked at the front. A green wedge decorated the white above the red rim. It was his old hat. He seemed to be wearing his old garb, but it was pristine, none of the fading or rips or tears that had accumulated over the years of traveling were there.<p>

None of this seemed to phase him in the slightest. He just needed to find something, but he didn't know where or how, he just knew he needed to find it. He took a step forward. The clouds around him seemed to move with him, billowing with the movement. The receding clouds revealed a glass rectangle, suspended in mid-air. That was it, the path the lead to what he needed to find! He walked forward, each step revealing another suspended rectangle, each higher than the previous one.

Soon, the first step was before him. He lifted his foot up and gingerly placed it on the surface of the glass, afraid it would not support him. On his foot's touch, the first glass rectangle lit up with an ethereal orange glow, akin to a sunset, followed by the next, and the next, until all that were in view were aglow. An orange halo illuminated the clouds that surrounded him, but they still retained their gray coloration. This put him ill at ease, but he didn't let that break his resolve. He put his weight down on the glowing glass and began to ascend the staircase.

As he went higher, the area to which the clouds confined his vision seemed to widen. All seemed to be going gradually darker. After awhile, all he could see were the glowing rectangles, piercing the darkness with their fiery light. He looked down. There was nothing but black. His leg muscles tightened in response, in some futile attempt to make him less likely to deviate from his thin pathway and to fall to a probable death. He shook his head, to forget his apparent height, and he trudged onward.

Soon enough, a much larger glow began to appear in the distance, a platform, his destination, he presumed. He began to run up the stairs, despite his better judgment that he would fall. The platform moved closer to him at seemingly a much faster rate than he moved towards it. This didn't seem to bother him, though. When he reached the platform, he saw nothing. Only an infinite expanse of orange lay before him. He looked back behind him, only to see that the platform continued where the stairs once were. He turned around once again, only to find a wall of gray clouds about ten meters ahead of him, something that was not there before. He thought nothing of it, he only needed to find it, to find _her_.

He stepped forward, and as he expected, the clouds receded with his steps. He continued for awhile until something began to emerge from the clouds. It seemed to be a risen section of the platform, cylindrical, a pedestal perhaps. It must be there, _she_ must be there. He proceeded slowly, and more of the pedestal revealed itself. Another object began to appear out of the clouds, but this one was different. It was made of wood, it seemed. Its curves and corners made it stick out from the uniformity of everything else in this orange and gray expanse. To its left, more wood extended into the clouds, to its right, a white, soft appearing substance, some sort of fabric, maybe. After a small period of thought, he determined it to be a bedpost, and the rest of it must have been a bed. He took another step forward, and it did indeed appear to be a bed. Perhaps this was where it was, where _she_ was.

He once again began to proceed, slowly, almost cautiously, as if he did not want to scare her away. His steps began to reveal what appeared to be legs on the bed, but they were not her legs. They appeared to have hair on them, a male characteristic, though he was too far away to tell for sure. He increased the speed of his gait, and was quickly able to make out two sets of legs. He was now confused. This wasn't what he was supposed to find, at least, not what he had hoped to find.

He kept going, his steps revealing thighs, then hips, then stomachs, then bent elbows, then chests, then hands stroking necks, then two familiar faces. His gut twisted with dread at what he was seeing. He had indeed found who he was looking for, but not what he wanted to be looking for. There she was, hands all over a man, a man he knew, his distinctively styled green hair was unmistakable. A cold chill ran through his body as he stood frozen, his eyes widened. Then something clicked in his head. He began to feel anger seeping into his veins, slowly leading his blood to a boil. He began to run forward. A glint of gold showed itself above the man's head, catching his eye. As he moved closer, the glint revealed itself to be a crown, jeweled with rubies, sapphires, and all manner of precious gems. He skidded to a stop a few feet from the bed, unnoticed by the two.

"Cilan! Wha... What's going on? What are you doing?" The young, shirtless man seemed to halt his caressing, a smile cracking at his lips. His eyes closed, his chin lowered and he began to chuckle. His laughter escalated into something resembling cackling. The orange haired girl beside him looked at him with confusion.

"What's so funny, baby?"

_Baby_. That word made him cringe.

"Oh, it's nothing, Misty." The man opened his eyes and looked to his side, making direct eye contact with him. "Nothing at all," the man said with a stinging venom in his voice. He felt that venom, in his chest, in his heart, eating away at his insides.

"Oh. Okay," she said dismissively, gazing into the man's eyes. The man responded by putting his hand on her cheek and pulling her into him; not only that, but she seemed to _like_ it, and she returned it. Suddenly, any hope that was previously in his body was quickly drained out, leaving a black hole of vacuous dread to ravage his being.

"Ash!" a bodiless, but recognizable voice called. It was his mother's voice, but she was nowhere to be seen. He looked up, left, right, even down, nothing.

"Ash! You've waited too long. You'll never have her. I'll never have any grandchildren." His mother seemed to be lamenting, her words and tone bringing guilt to his already broken emotional state.

"Mom! I... This shouldn't be happening! She's mine and nobody else's..." His voice trailed off as he realized the fallacy of his words. Had he been assuming all this time that she would be waiting for him, that it wasn't possible that she would take interest in anyone else?

He had no time to ponder this, as the orange lights began to flicker. Everything went black and all was quiet. Suddenly he heard a shatter and he began to fall. He let out a shout as his gut wrenched with panic, feeling the shards of glass hit his body as he fell into them.

"Waah!" He shot up where he sat. His vision focused and he looked around, seeing darkened trees and foliage. He was confused for a second. He patted his bare chest with his hands, feeling a cold sweat coating his body.

"Where... It was a dream. It was only a dream," he said quietly to himself, realizing what was going on.

"Be quiet, Ash. I'm trying to sleep, here," a tired female voice said from above. It was Iris, in her tree.

"Oh, s-sorry..." he said absentmindedly.

_It seemed so real_, he thought. He looked to his left, expecting to see a sleeping red head, his secret crush. Instead, he saw an empty sleeping bag. Panic once again entered his stomach. Fears of his dreams being prophetic began to trickle into his head. He looked beyond the pile of ashes, where the campfire once was, to see if Cilan was there. He wasn't. Alarms started going off in his head. Cilan _had_ been a bit... flirty with her from the moment she came to visit him in Unova. Adrenaline began to pump into his bloodstream. He looked around him, grabbed his shirt, put it on and wriggled himself out of his sleeping bag. He grabbed his pants and clumsily struggled into them.

He stood there, not sure what he was intending to do, when a figure materialized in between the trees to his right. His eyes shot in the direction of the figure and his adrenaline spiked. The figure quickly revealed itself to be a groggy-eyed Cilan.

"Cilan!" he whispered loudly. "Where were you? Where's Misty?" he asked rather quickly. Cilan looked at him funnily.

"I was going to the bathroom. What's going on?"

"Where's Misty?" he demanded. Cilan stared at him blankly.

"...Who? Oh, right, your little crush. No idea." He blushed at this and prepared to retort with a lie that there was no crush, but was interrupted.

"Can you two be quieter? I'm trying to sleep," Iris implored.

"Sorry. If you're worried, go look for her. I'm going back to bed," Cilan stated plainly.

He stood there as Cilan crawled back into his sleeping bag, pondering his advice. Where could she have gone? What was she doing? He looked back to the empty sleeping bag. _She probably didn't want to wake me up, so she probably didn't step over me, so she probably went that way,_ he thought. With that, he took off into the forest.

He didn't have to go long into the dark abyss until he heard a voice, a sweet, familiar voice. He couldn't make out what it was saying but he could tell to whom it belonged. It was Misty, the girl with whom he was fairly sure he was in love. He could see the forest beginning to open up as he approached the mellifluous voice that captivated him so. As he neared his destination, he could make out a stream, flowing silently through the woods. On its banks, he could discern the upper half of an arm, the hand planted firmly on the ground, supporting its owner. The sight gave him a rush of excitement, and of anxiety. Why had he even come here? What was he going to do? Then he remembered the last thought he had in his dream. She wasn't going to wait for him forever, if she were even waiting for him now. He looked up. He could see a milky sheet of stars pocking the sky. Now was the perfect opportunity to tell her, and he may not get another one.

The mere prospect of this made his insides scream with fear. All manner of grim thoughts and possibilities entered his mind. Thoughts of rejection, loss of her as a friend, humiliation and other undesirable outcomes raged through his mind. _Well, I should at least talk to her,_ he thought.

He stealthily proceeded to a large bush that obscured most of her body, placing his steps lightly on the ground so as to avoid any noises.

"I guess that's just the way it has to be... right, Azurill?" She sighed.

Ash was very curious as to what she was talking about. He bent down to rest his arms on his knees, his ears perked and his mouth slightly agape. After a little while of hearing nothing, his balance started to fade. He felt himself leaning forward a little too much for his own comfort. He cringed internally as his center of gravity shifted more and more forward until he was forced to take a step to prevent him from falling. He shut his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth as a loud snap shattered the silence of the forest. A bit of panic filled him when he heard Misty's body whip around toward the source of the noise.

"Huh? What was that?" she asked herself softly.

Ash's anxiety began to rise once again. Should he reveal himself or should he hide? He had to think fast. As creepy as he felt it was, he wanted to eavesdrop on her musings to herself, but he did want to talk to her. _Oh, whatever!_

"Oh, it's just me, Misty." He came out from behind the bush, grinning awkwardly, his hand raised behind his head, as if to scratch the back of his neck.

"Ash? What are you doing out here?" she asked, somewhat astonished.

"Well, I woke up, and I saw you were gone... so I came looking for you."

"Oh, well... I couldn't sleep, so I came here." She looked back out to the stream, with a forlorn expression, perhaps simply out of fatigue. Ash walked over to her and sat next to her. A short silence ensued. Ash racked his brain for something to say. He knew what he _wanted_ to say, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it. He settled on something more innocuous.

"You didn't have to come here, you know, to visit me. But I'm glad you did."

"I wanted to. I haven't seen you in awhile, right?" She looked over to him, into his eyes. Her gaze seemed to penetrate his soul. He was lost in her beautiful eyes. He found himself unable to reply. He was completely lost in admiration of her. The way the moon reflected off of her fair skin, they way it glinted in her eyes. _Wait, stop staring! Say something!_

"Uhh... yeah." He looked away from her, to the sky. It seemed like something he would look at next anyway. He saw her look up too out of his peripheral vision. They sat there in silence for a second, but the silence was comfortable.

"We don't see stars much back in Cerulean City. I almost forgot how beautiful they were."

"I guess I've just always took them for granted. They are really pretty, aren't they?"

"Yeah... Do you ever think that they're watching us too?"

"Who? The stars?"

"Yeah." It seemed an odd question to ask, but he decided to oblige her.

"I can't say I have thought that."

"Oh. Well, I have... Sometimes I think they're judging me, pointing out my flaws."

Ash suddenly had an idea. This was an opportunity for him to be smooth, to give her a compliment that it seemed apparent that she needed. Now he just needed to muster up some courage. A nauseous feeling began to pulsate in his gut as he opened his mouth. He swallowed it down, as if that were going to suppress it. He opened his mouth once more, this time resolved to say something.

"Well, I don't think you have to think that."

"What do you mean?" Her voice had a certain curiosity in it, maybe even hope, but that might have just been wishful thinking on Ash's part.

He felt the need to swallow his nerves down again. "Uhh... Well, they're stars, they're really far away, so it doesn't matter what they think, haha..." Ash mentally slapped himself. He looked down at his feet in defeat as Misty looked back at the sky. He didn't catch her reaction to his comment, but he imagined it being neutral at best.

"I still think about it. It just reminds me of everything that's wrong with me..." Ash looked back at her. Her legs were retracted into her chest, her arms wrapped around them, her head down. The sight of her like this stung at his heart. He hated to see her sad, as rarely as it happened. He figured he had another shot to say what he wanted to say.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Misty. I mean, we all have our flaws, but... I think that's what makes us all special. A-" She interrupted him.

"But what if my flaws make me a bad person?" Ash had difficulty reading her expression. It looked like a mix of nervousness and hope and... well, he didn't know. But he did know that this was his golden opportunity to tell her how he felt.

"Your flaws don't make you a bad person, Misty. You... I..." He began to stutter. The nervousness came rushing back to him, cutting into his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe. He was suddenly afraid. The thoughts of rejection, of embarrassment, of ridicule even, returned. He sat, frozen by his own nerves, unable to move or say anything. A chill ran down his spine, a hot, tingling chill that stung at his face and gave him the feeling of sweat on his forehead.

"You what?" Misty started leaning toward him, intensely curious as to what he was going to say.

He thought of just backing out. Just saying something like "you're a good person," and ending it there. He seriously considered chickening out; as much as the idea of backing down from something sickened him, the idea of telling Misty how he felt about her seemed to be sickening him just a bit more. Then he remembered something. He remembered his dream, that moment that Cilan and Misty kissed. He remembered how his gut dropped at the sight of it. He remembered his realization that Misty won't be there for his taking forever. He could either go for it, and risk losing her, but stand a chance at being with her, or back down and never have her at all. _It's now or never, I guess_, he thought. His stomach tightened with fear and dread, but he ignored it.

"Misty." He repositioned himself to face her directly. She looked at him, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape. "You are _not_ a bad person. And I'm not just saying that so I don't offend you or something. I don't really know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it. I... I-I like you... a-a lot." Misty gasped a little bit at this, a smile cracking at her lips.

"A-Ash-"

"Just... Please, just let me finish. I've thought a lot about it, and I don't really know what love feels like, but... I think I love you." He could barely make eye contact with her as he said these words, but what he saw seemed to be a good sign. She was leaning forward, eyes wide open, she might even have been blushing, but it was too dark to tell for sure.

"I've felt this way for awhile, but I could never bring myself to tell you. I was too afraid... but my point is, yeah, you have flaws, but... well, I love them... So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that, just because you have a flaw, doesn't mean that there's something wrong with you. I'd say that all your flaws are everything that's right with you. I love your temper... I love... well, I'm not good at listing things, but... I love you, Misty. Okay, I said it. Do your worst. I'm ready for it." His voice trailed off to a near whisper. He wasn't ready for it. He would never be ready for it. But he braced himself anyway, attempting to prepare himself for the worst. He was no longer nervous, though. He felt void of anything but dread and a slight hope that she would reciprocate. It was oddly relieving, to have gotten that information out there, like a burden that had been on him for so many years was suddenly lifted.

"Ash... that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. And... I think I love you too." Ash's head bolted up at this. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Wait. What?"

"I love you, Ash. I always have." He stared at her, incredulous at the overwhelming happiness it gave him to hear this. Suddenly, all the fear and dread and anxiety that had once occupied his mind were flushed out of him. He felt lighter, like he was soaring. After all these years of self-doubt and debating whether or he even had a chance with her, he suddenly knew. Not only that, but she liked him, _loved_ him, even. He sat there, staring at her, admiring her. Her slim form, her smooth, fair complexion, and those _eyes_, they could be his now. Adrenaline began to build up in his veins at this prospect. It made him feel restless. He just had to act, he had to do something.

"Ash... are you going to say anything?"

He thought on this. Maybe he shouldn't say anything. Yes, now wasn't the time for words, now was the time for action. He knew he had to do something, but what was it that he was supposed to do? Kiss her? Yes, that was it. He had to kiss her. But he had never kissed a girl before. How was he supposed to go about it? Then he recalled something that Brock had once told him about this topic: _When your lips meet, you'll know what to do. Just be gentle, like you would when you're caressing something._ He supposed he would have to just wing it.

He got up onto his knees, leaning forward, toward Misty, who backed away a bit, perhaps blushing.

"No, I'm not..." He reached his hand out to touch her cheek. The feeling of her skin on his made a chill run down his arm. It was soft, just like he had imagined. He put a bit of pressure on her jawbone, to guide her head toward his. She began to lean toward him, presumably realizing what he was intending to do. He leaned down a bit and closed his eyes, placing his other hand on her arm. Soon, he felt his nose touch hers, and his heart fluttered.

When their lips made contact, he let his instinct take over. Their lips locked into place as Ash's insides began to dance with joy. He had been fantasizing about this happening for awhile, and suddenly, it was really happening. It seemed surreal at first, like just another whimsical dream, but he slowly began to settle into the reality of it all. Misty began to shift, lightening the pressure on his lips. He couldn't see what she was doing, but he guessed she was getting onto her knees from her sitting position. Soon, Misty's body was pressed lightly against his, her arm around his waist. He moved his hand from her arm to her side, and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Misty let out a small moan, and placed her hand on his chest, giving him a rush of excitement. He slid his fingers down her jawline, to her chin, and placed his hand on the back of her neck, entwining his fingers in her hair. He enjoyed the silky feeling of her locks, running his fingers deeper into them.

Slowly, they receded from each other's kiss. Ash opened his eyes to a smiling Misty. She giggled a bit, causing him to giggle in response. He felt like he was on top of the world as the girl he loved embraced him. They fell onto the ground and lay there in each other's arms for a few moments, her head in the crook of his neck, taking in what had just transpired.

"What happens now?" Misty asked earnestly.

"I don't know. I guess we're together now, or something."

"Yeah, but I have to leave in a few days. What then?" Ash hadn't thought about that, nor did he want to. But he supposed he must, at least for the time being.

"Does that change anything?"

"I don't want it to." She paused for a second and lifted her head up to make eye contact with him. "I'm willing to wait for you if you're willing to wait too." Her expression was sincere while she said this.

"Of course I am. We'll spend the next few days together, and then we'll be apart for awhile... but eventually, we'll see each other again. Maybe you could even come on my next journey," he offered.

"Maybe. But we won't really be apart. We'll always have each other. We'll just be physically apart."

"You know, I was thinking that, but I didn't really know how to say it." Ash gave her his goofy grin, and she smiled back at him.

"I can't say I'm surprised." Ash laughed a bit. Normally he would have been slightly insulted, and he would have started an argument, but right now, he didn't really care. He was in far too good of a mood. There was a pause between them.

"Should we go back to camp?" she suggested.

"Well, if we go back to camp, we can't lay together like this... We could just stay here and, you know, fall asleep with each other." He felt a bit shy in offering this, but he couldn't imagine anything better.

"I like that idea," she said as she snuggled closer to him.

They lay there with each other, both in a bliss they couldn't have imagined just a few minutes ago. As Ash began to drift off to sleep, he held onto her just a little bit tighter. He looked up at the stars, and he thanked them, for the opportunity they gave him. He remembered back to his dream that had woken him up not but fifteen minutes ago. He thanked it too, for giving him the motivation he needed, and for making him realize that sitting there pining for her wasn't going to do anything. He had never before been grateful of a nightmare, and at any point prior in his life, he would have thought himself crazy for it, but he was. He had always regretted waking up to memories of the terror, but this time, he didn't regret. As his eyes went heavy, he gave the girl in his arms a peck on the forehead, and drifted off.

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><p><strong>Well, there you have it. Reviews are appreciated, criticisms too! By all means, point out any typos you may spot! I hope you enjoyed it!<strong>


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